First Look at Julianne Moore and Ellen Page as a Gay Couple in ‘Freeheld’

First Look at Julianne Moore and Ellen Page as a Gay Couple in 'Freeheld'

“Freeheld” is the true story of Stacie Andree and her partner Laurel Hester, whose diagnosis of terminal lung cancer sparked a domestic-partner rights debate that was the subject of the 2007 documentary of the same name.

The bound-to-be-weepie drama, out October 2, stars Page as Andree and Moore as Hester, and it’s directed by Peter Sollett (“Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist”) and penned by Ron Nyswaner, who wrote the Oscar-nominated script for “Philadelphia.”

The couple battled for an appeal, which they finally won just before Hester’s death in 2006, after their home state New Jersey refused to allot Andree her partner’s pension benefits. Supporting cast includes Steve Carell as a fellow gay-rights activist and Michael Shannon as Hester’s cop partner.

Lionsgate is distributing. The original film “Freeheld” won the 2008 Best Documentary Short Oscar.